SSC CPO 2020 PYQ — Question 5

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.

Many of us have enjoyed visiting a zoo and consider it a day out having fun. Seeing real animals face to face can be thrilling and exciting, but many people wonder whether the animals themselves while entertaining us, are suffering in zoos. Many zoos do not have enough money to provide the animals with the basic features of a proper environment. Most animals are put in an artificial environment (e.g., cages). This isolation from their natural habitat can amount to cruelty. In some zoos, we see concrete floors for burrowing animals like rabbits. Cruelty may be shown in ways other than physical abuse or starvation. Big predators like lions and tigers are created to chase and hunt. By depriving them of these activities, we forget the reason for which they have evolved. These big cats lie in cages in the zoo eating the food given to them and they have nothing else to do. Highly intelligent and curious animals like chimpanzees and polar bears may become frustrated in a zoo; they need a challenging environment. Zoo supporters might argue that zoos provide educational opportunities to visitors, especially children; if we didn’t have animals in zoos, children wouldn’t see them at all and be ignorant about them. We live in a time when animals in their natural habitat can be seen on TV or computers, even smartphones while sitting at home. Therefore, the aim should be to conserve animals in the wild, in protected areas called sanctuaries.